To each their own, I moved from iOS to Android in 2020 and first days I started experimenting with different icon packs, but not all are perfect or of my taste, nowadays I only use the monet icons feature for Pixel Launcher, but if it wasn't for that I'd just use stock icons lol.
Have become? If anything, iOS have historically been getting more customizable over time not less.
And I don’t think it’s really accurate to compare iOS with MacOSX and earlier, entirely different systems with different use cases and form factors. I’d recon if Apple released a phone in 2002 it’s be just as locked down.
Not trying to defend this by the way, just surprised by the usage of the word “become” here as if it used to be different for iPhones.
I found an article from 2020 that said it wasn't possible to use custom icons on an iPhone. Idk if that's changed, since I don't have an iPhone. I know customization is not something they are known for.